Essays audiobooks

Bite by Bite

By: Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Narrated by: Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Length: 5 hours 32 minutes

Abridged: No

From the New York Times bestselling author of World of Wonders, a lyrical book of short essays about food, offering a banquet of tastes, smells, memories, associations, and marvelous curiosities from natureIn Bite by Bite, poet and essayist Aimee Nezhukumatathil explores the way food and drink evoke our associations and remembrances—a subtext or... Read more

Turning to Stone

By: Marcia Bjornerud

Narrated by: Rebecca Stern

Length: 9 hours 41 minutes

Abridged: No

Earth is vibrantly alive and full of wisdom for those who learn to listen.

Earth has been reinventing itself for more than four billion years, keeping a record of its experiments in the form of rocks. Yet most of us live our lives on the planet with no idea of its extraordinary history, unable to interpret the language of the rocks that surround... Read more

A Brief History of Vice

By: Robert Evans

Narrated by: Tristan Morris

Length: 7 hours 42 minutes

Abridged: No

A celebration of the brave, drunken pioneers who built our civilization one seemingly bad decision at a time, A Brief History of Vice explores a side of the past that mainstream history books prefer to hide. History has never been more fun—or more intoxicating.

Guns, germs, and steel might have transformed us from hunter-gatherers into modern... Read more

Trick Mirror

By: Jia Tolentino

Narrated by: Jia Tolentino

Length: 9 hours 45 minutes

Abridged: No

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “From The New Yorker’s beloved cultural critic comes a bold, unflinching collection of essays about self-deception, examining everything from scammer culture to reality television.”—Esquire
 
Book Club Pick for Now Read This, from PBS NewsHour and The New York Times • “A whip-smart, challenging book.”—Zadie Smith • “Jia... Read more

The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl

By: Issa Rae

Narrated by: Issa Rae

Length: 5 hours 49 minutes

Abridged: No

The “brilliantly wry” (Lena Dunham) and “lovably awkward” (Mindy Kaling) New York Times bestseller from the creator of HBO’s Insecure.

In this universally accessible New York Times bestseller named for her wildly popular web series, Issa Rae—“a singular voice with the verve and vivacity of uncorked champagne” (Kirkus Reviews)—waxes humorously... Read more

All Things Bright and Beautiful

By: James Herriot

Narrated by: Nicholas Ralph

Length: 13 hours 22 minutes

Abridged: No

**This program is read by Nicholas Ralph, star of the PBS Masterpiece series**

"Nicholas Ralph’s readings of Herriot’s stories are as comforting an experience as the show, and even more immersive." —The Houston Chronicle

A tie-in to the PBS Masterpiece series and Christmas special, available on streaming and home video.

The second volume in the... Read more

My Life in France

By: Julia Child

Narrated by: Kimberly Farr

Length: 11 hours 17 minutes

Abridged: No

In her own words, here is the captivating story of Julia Child’s years in France, where she fell in love with French food and found her “true calling.”

From the moment the ship docked in Le Havre, en route to Paris, in the fall of 1948, Julia had an awakening that changed her life. Soon this tall, outspoken gal from Pasadena, California, who... Read more

How to be Alone

By: Lane Moore

Narrated by: Lane Moore

Length: 6 hours 3 minutes

Abridged: No

The former Sex & Relationships Editor for Cosmopolitan and host of the wildly popular comedy show Tinder Live with Lane Moore presents her poignant, funny, and deeply moving first book.

Lane Moore is a rare performer who is as impressive onstage—whether hosting her iconic show Tinder Live or being the enigmatic front woman of It Was... Read more

Why We Love Baseball

By: Joe Posnanski

Narrated by: Joe Posnanski & Ellen Adair

Length: 11 hours 52 minutes

Abridged: No

NEW YORK TIMES bestseller

Winner of the CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year

National Sports Media Association Sports Book of the Year 

An NPR "Book of the Day"

#1 New York Times bestselling author Joe Posnanski is back with a masterful ode to the game: a countdown of 50 of the most memorable moments in baseball’s history, to make you fall... Read more

Mere Christianity

By: C. S. Lewis

Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt

Length: 7 hours 6 minutes

Abridged: No

""C.S. Lewis is the ideal persuader for the half-convinced, for the good man who would like to be a Christian but finds his intellect getting in the way."" — Anthony Burgess, New York Times Book ReviewOur moral consciousness and moral judgements are proof to the human race that a moral being exists—God.Mere Christianity explores the core beliefs... Read more

Carry

By: Toni Jensen

Narrated by: Toni Jensen

Length: 10 hours 22 minutes

Abridged: No

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • A powerful, poetic memoir about what it means to exist as an Indigenous woman in America, told in snapshots of the author’s encounters with gun violence.

Finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize • Goop Book Club Pick • “Essential . . . We need more voices like Toni Jensen’s, more books like Carry.”—Tommy... Read more

The Archaeology of Knowledge

By: Michel Foucault

Narrated by: James Gillies

Length: 12 hours 10 minutes

Abridged: No

Madness, sexuality, power, knowledge—are these facts of life or simply parts of speech? In a series of works of astonishing brilliance, historian Michel Foucault excavated the hidden assumptions that govern the way we live and the way we think. The Archaeology of Knowledge begins at the level of things aid and moves quickly to illuminate the... Read more

Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger

By: Lisa Donovan

Narrated by: Lisa Donovan

Length: 7 hours 51 minutes

Abridged: No

Named a Favorite Book for Southerners in 2020 by Garden & Gun 

"Donovan is such a vivid writer—smart, raunchy, vulnerable and funny— that if her vaunted caramel cakes and sugar pies are half as good as her prose, well, I'd be open to even giving that signature buttermilk whipped cream she tops her desserts with a try.”—Maureen... Read more

The White Album

By: Joan Didion

Narrated by: Susan Varon

Length: 7 hours 21 minutes

Abridged: No

"First appearing in print in 1979, this remarkable and intimate audiobook chronicles the implosion of the 1960s and reports on the people, mores, and trends that defined that turbulent time."—AudioFile

First published in 1979, Joan Didion's The White Album records indelibly the upheavals and aftermaths of the 1960s.

Examining key events, figures,... Read more

All Things Wise and Wonderful

By: James Herriot

Narrated by: Nicholas Ralph

Length: 16 hours 2 minutes

Abridged: No

**This program is read by Nicholas Ralph, star of the PBS Masterpiece series**

"Add in the narration of Nicholas Ralph, and you have a first-rate audio experience. Ralph plays Herriot in the PBS series, but he does not simply bank on his star power. He narrates the stories with empathy and emotion. His skill with voices really sets this work... Read more

Carsick

By: John Waters

Narrated by: John Waters

Length: 8 hours 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Carsick is the New York Times bestselling chronicle of a cross-country hitchhiking journey with America's most beloved weirdo.

John Waters is putting his life on the line. Armed with wit, a pencil-thin mustache, and a cardboard sign that reads "I'm Not Psycho," he hitchhikes across America from Baltimore to San Francisco, braving lonely roads and... Read more

The Christmas Chronicles

By: Nigel Slater

Narrated by: Nigel Slater

Length: 7 hours 34 minutes

Abridged: No

WINNER OF THE FORTNUM & MASON AWARDS BEST FOOD BOOK 2018 From the BBC1 presenter and bestselling author of Eat, The Kitchen Diaries and Toast comes a new book featuring everything you need for the winter solstice. Read by the author, this audiobook... Read more

Low-Hanging Fruit

By: Randy Rainbow

Narrated by: Randy Rainbow

Length: 6 hours 53 minutes

Abridged: No

This program is read by the author, with contributions from Pamela Adlon and Gwen Rainbow.

"The production of the audiobook...is so rich with sound effects, additional voice actors and music."—The San Francisco Chronicle

"Tart, sassy, and hilariously funny from start to finish, Rainbow’s book offers laughter as a tonic for troubled times." —... Read more

Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend (or Just Me)?

By: Jay Ellis

Narrated by: Jay Ellis

Length: 7 hours 25 minutes

Abridged: No

Jay Ellis, star of HBO’s Insecure, tells the story of growing up with an imaginary best friend you will never forget—part Dwayne Wayne from A Different World, part Will Smith from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air—in this hilarious, vulnerable memoir.

“So funny, poignant, and personal. I loved this and you will, too.”—Mindy Kaling, author of Why Not... Read more

Like Love

By: Maggie Nelson

Narrated by: Senn Annis

Length: 11 hours 59 minutes

Abridged: No

A career-spanning collection of inspiring, revelrous essays about art and artists



Like Love is a momentous, raucous collection of essays drawn from twenty years of Maggie Nelson's brilliant work. These profiles, reviews, remembrances, tributes, and critical essays, as well as several conversations with friends and idols, bring to life Nelson's... Read more

A Burst of Light

By: Audre Lorde

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Length: 4 hours 33 minutes

Abridged: No

"Lorde's words — on race, cancer, intersectionality, parenthood, injustice — burn with relevance 25 years after her death." — O, The Oprah Magazine

Winner of the 1988 Before Columbus Foundation National Book Award, this path-breaking collection of essays is a clarion call to build communities that nurture our spirit. Lorde announces the need for... Read more

The Displaced

By: Viet Thanh Nguyen (Editor)

Narrated by: Greta Jung & Timothy Andrés Pabon

Length: 5 hours 21 minutes

Abridged: No

In January 2017, Donald Trump signed an executive order stopping entry to the United States from seven predominantly Muslim countries and dramatically cutting the number of refugees allowed to resettle in the United States each year. The American people spoke up, with protests, marches, donations, and lawsuits that quickly overturned the order.... Read more

Look Alive Out There

By: Sloane Crosley

Narrated by: Sloane Crosley

Length: 6 hours 13 minutes

Abridged: No

This program is read by the author

Sloane Crosley returns to the form that made her a household name in really quite a lot of households: Essays! These small doses of wit and sass make for an exuberant, unforgettable audiobook.

From the New York Times–bestselling author Sloane Crosley comes Look Alive Out There—a brand-new collection of essays... Read more

FANTASY EXPERT

By: Ron Shandler

Narrated by: BJ Harrison

Length: 14 hours 28 minutes

Abridged: No

An entertaining and incisive chronicle from one of the foremost authorities in fantasy baseball



Ron Shandler is a self-described rotoholic. In the beginning, he hoarded newspaper box scores and pored over every number at his disposal. Then came the compulsion to create his own numbers. A monthly newsletter expanded into an annual Baseball... Read more